getting sexual...

I have been a terrible writer lately, but don’t worry, I have plenty of excuses. For one, I think things just plain stopped being funny or surprising and I started to think that nothing worth writing about has happened to me lately. Not true….I mean just the other day I sat in on a sexual education seminar that some of my fellow volunteers had put on in Yeghegnadzor, where we were asked in complete seriousness if someone could get a disease from NOT having sex (of course, only if they had been having sex already because they were married and then their husband died or something). The seminar was given to room full of young women, aged 16-30, all very eager for information. We passed a condom around the room for demonstration purposes (wrapped, of course) and it went around like a hot potato as if holding it too long would take away ones virginity. We had asked if they wanted to see it prior to passing it around…the answer was a resounding yes. Virginity is very important in this culture and throughout the entire seminar and older women kept admonishing the younger to “remember that you are Armenian” which was all that needed to be said. Still, one young woman wanted to know if there was a way to have sex and still be a virgin. This led us into a very giggly conversation about the different types of sex and about one’s personal definition of sex. One might imagine how that went. In fact, our translator refused to translate part of the conversation. When talking about the birth control pills we were asked what the different colors meant. One of the volunteers explained that during the menstrual cycle the pills are sugar pills to mark the days. This was translated as “during the menstrual cycle the pills have a sweet taste.” Maybe that is to help the chocolate cravings….

In addition to sex education seminars, I have had my hands full in Vayk lately. Suddenly everyone has figured out all at once that I exist, and I am literally being chased down the street by people asking for help or for grants, etc. Even my counterpart seems more into working with me. Maybe she has figured out that I more than half done already. We are currently working on a grant for (much needed) trash cans on the streets and near parks, schools, etc. We still have a few more obstacles to tackle…i.e. can we actually get the trash truck guys to pick the garbage up? How do we make sure that they aren’t stolen? (we are cementing them to the ground) How do we ensure they are actually used? And so on. Still it is a start, and with some added education and city clean-ups we might actually make a small dent in the enormous trash problem in the city.

Another teacher in the community asked me help with a project that she is interested in getting started in Vayk. As it turns out, her boyfriend is the proud new owner of an empty room (old store), which he has renovated and is looking to put to use for the community. What I was able to deduce from our meeting is that she wants a center. I don’t think she really cares what kind of center, just a center, maybe a youth center, maybe an information center, maybe a fitness center, you know, whatever grants are out there, she’ll do that one. Normally I would run away screaming, but for some reason I have decided to try and help her. I think she has a genuine interest in doing something good, she just has no idea where to start or how to go about it. I can help her with that. Her boyfriend sold his father’s car, which he had inherited, to purchase and renovate the room, so that shows me he is dedicated and has already made a serious contribution. So, now we have to decide what kind of center and start the grant writing process. What fun!

My sitemate decided that Peace Corps wasn’t for her and early terminated her service last week, which has led to whole new slew of interesting interactions with community members. It took me about 30 minutes to perfect my speech about why she left, that it wasn’t anyone’s fault locally, that it was her decision, blah, blah, blah. The host family has taken it especially hard as this was their third volunteer and they don’t understand why this time should be any different. They are a little worried about having extra food now stored for winter. I told them not to worry…I would come and eat it. They seemed to accept that. If anything, I hope that this experience allows people to think a little more seriously about the potential difficulties of being a Peace Corps volunteer in their town. I have to travel a little farther to find American friends now, but I am no worse for the wear.

The person who is fast becoming my closest friend in Vayk is an Armenian named Zara who had been an LCF (Language and Cultural Faciliator) for Peace Corps before going to the Netherlands last year to study for a masters in TEFL. She is back now, more westernized than ever, with impeccable English. She has become my new Armenian tutor and we are having a lot of fun with lessons and with talking about cultures in Armenian and English. She asked me to find a movie for her the other day because there was a phrase that she wanted to remember. Turns out that the phrase was “I busted my butt,” to which Joe suggested that maybe we should be using different movies to introduce her to American culture. Hmmmm.

Vayk is quickly cooling down…I turned on my heater on for the first time last week. Winter approaching means a lot more time inside huddled around the heater, and maybe, just maybe, a few more blog entries. I’ll see what I can do.